RS panel seeks report from Odisha on delay in mines’ auction

The Rajya Sabha (RS) Committee on Subordinate Legislation which is on a visit to Odisha has expressed its displeasure over the inordinate delay in auction of mines in the state.

The committee has directed the state government to submit a report within ten days on what steps it has taken for auction of mines in conformity with the Mineral Rules of the MMDR Act.

At a meeting held here today, committee chairperson T Subbarami Reddy and other members sought replies from departmental officers on questions like why auction of mines was being delayed in the state and what was the problem in issuing notification.

Further, the committee sought replies on when the state government was going to issue notification on auction of mines and how many mines in the state were in functional state.

“The state government has already initiated the process to auction the mines. A notification for auction of 12 mines in the state will be issued by December 10. The state government has constituted a committee to monitor auction of mines,” director Mines, Deepak Mohanty claimed to have informed the committee.

Apart from auction of mines, the committee discussed issues like corporate social responsibility of industries, waste disposal and management and functioning of National Food Security Act in the state.